Tuesday, September 28, 2021

 

Council in Attendance:
Mike Wittie (Engineering)
Christopher Livingston (Architecture)                       
Scott Creel (Letters & Science)
Tricia Seifert (Education)
Michael Brody (Faculty Senate)
Marc Giullian (Business)
Wade Hill (Nursing)
Catherine Dunlop (Letters & Science)
Hannah McKelvey (Library)
Dawn Tarabochia (Health & Human Development)
Craig Ogilvie (Dean of The Graduate School)

Also in Attendance:             
Lauren Cerretti (Graduate School)
Emily Peters (Graduate School)

Absent:
Maureen Kessler (Student Representative)
Jane Mangold (Agriculture)
Dennis Aig (Arts)

Meeting started at 11:01 am on WebEx

September 14, 2021 minutes

  • Motion to approve by Giullian, 2nd by Dunlop, unanimous approval

Announcements

  • Update from the Dean
    • Graduate enrollment 8% higher than last year; all time high
    • Retention/time to degree efforts
      • Retention survey sent to students that started this fall
        • Will send summary information to departments
      • 55 food scholarships awarded
      • 20 childcare scholarships
      • Wellbeing initiative: week of sleep Oct. 11-15
      • Doctor in 5 initiative: encourage finishing in 5 years

 

  • Faculty Senate update (Brody)
    • Faculty Senate passed a resolution asking BOR to support mask mandate for the MUS system
    • MUSFAR asking BOR to require vaccinations on campus
    • Q: Will any of the policies UGC review go to Faculty Senate?
      • Policies approved by UGC do not go to Faculty Senate for a vote
      • Dean Ogilvie can attend to get feedback

Old Business

  • Video Conferencing Policy
    • Review revisions based on feedback from last meeting:
      • Added that video can be turned off when screensharing
      • Added that the student is not responsible for the logistics
    • Motion to approve policy by Wittie, second by Dunlop
      • Discussion: could clarify some of the language— “option” refers to videoconferencing; applies to members and student could be moved to the beginning
        • Agreement that these minor changes can be fixed when adding the language to the policy website
      • Policy approved: 7 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstention

  • Co-convening Policy
    • Review revisions based on feedback from department heads and faculty:
      • Separate learning outcomes
      • Quality of experience as perceived by students: instructor review evaluations
      • UGC will review co-convened courses when they are new or changed
        • Curriculum committee reviews when a course is updated
    • Open Discussion:
      • Attached syllabi often do not include much information about how different the classes will be—this policy ensures the differences are articulated
      • Why is the focus on the experience versus the content?
        • What does “experience” mean?
        • A graduate class would speak to higher level skills: research, creation of knowledge; maybe the word is not experience
        • Suggest: rigor, setting, or content (knowledge, skills, and affective development/dispositions)
      • Content can be monitored. It is articulated in the syllabus. We can see the syllabus, not necessarily the experience.
      • Do want to get a sense of the graduate student’s experience: addressed in item #3 (instructors review evaluations)
      • Suggest the instructor should consider undergraduate evaluations separate from graduate evaluations
    • This is the way it works now and is what instructors should be doing
    • Suggest removing #3: it shouldn’t be a policy if not monitorable, but can be included as a best practice
    • This should be reviewed at the departmental level: course instructors and departments should be the ones reviewing evaluations
    • All courses should be reviewed, not just co-convened courses
    • Increase in tenure track faculty would help
    • Policy subcommittee will review and send back out to Council

 

  • CSAI-CERT Artificial Intelligence, Level I Proposal
    • Review responses from proposer:
      • UGC’s interpretation was correct—no individual course must be taken
      • Open to changes in future if ethics courses available
    • Philosophy offers an AI ethics—can send this information to proposer
      • Worthwhile to wait on ethics course reply before voting—this could be added to the course list
    • Still feel the answer to #1 isn’t sufficient. There should at least be one course from the first and second block.
      • Can build a curriculum map as a requirement and waive if a student has an equivalent course
      • Seminars and Independent study must be AI relevant: couldn’t that mean anything?
    • Provide additional feedback to proposer

New Business

  • Graduate Certificate in Science Teaching in STEM, Level I Proposal
    • STEM is a broader area than MSSE has looked at: recommend reaching out to Ag Ed – they have an online program
      • Courses/partnership should be discussed to broaden the program
        • Also include Math
        • Also invite proposers to reach out to Dept of Ed – science instructors for licensure areas
          • Seems like there should be some coursework with an Education rubric, at least listed as options
        • Should include letters from these departments stating their support (Math, Ag Ed, Educ)
      • Proposal doesn’t clearly articulate how this is different than the other science certificates currently offered
      • Doesn’t address whether there is a similar program in the MUS system or not – that will be asked by OCHE
      • Livingston will send feedback to proposer
        • Members can email their comments to Livingston to compile


Adjourned at 12:30 pm

Next scheduled meeting – October 12, 2021 WEBEX